Pea Ridge School District

Third Grade: A Parent's Guide

Third Grade Learning Targets

Teachers in Pea Ridge follow the Science of Reading and strategies promoted by Arkansas R.I.S.E. (Reading Initiative for Student Excellence). Many family resources are available from the Arkansas Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on their R.I.S.E site, including milestones in learning to read by age and tips for what families can do at home to help growing readers.

Parents will receive updates about student progress in reading three times each school year (fall, winter, and spring) using NWEA MAP Growth reports and classroom assessments. We encourage parents to reach out to your child's teacher if you have questions about your child's reading skills and progress.

We use an additional resource: Lexia Core5. This tool helps us target student's individual learning needs so that each student grows as a reader every day!

Learn More: Lexia Core5 (Grades K-5)

Our students in grades Kindergarten through 5th grade use Lexia® Core5® Reading—a fun, computer-based program that helps students improve their literacy skills. The activities in Core5 support and build on your child’s classroom curriculum and focus on developing reading skills in six areas: phonological awareness, phonics, structural analysis, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

Here’s how Lexia Core5 Reading works:

Your child begins Core5 at a starting point that fits his or her needs and then engages in online activities throughout the week.
Online activities include direct instruction and immediate feedback as your child learns new skills.
Progress and performance in the program are reported directly to teachers so that they can provide assistance when needed.
Paper-and-pencil activities are also used for practice and may be completed in school or brought home.
Achievement certificates may be sent home to celebrate success and to show progress in the program.

Here’s how you can set your reader up for success:

Students should complete the tasks on their own. That means no hints or tips from grown-ups, friends, or siblings! This is important because Lexia provides extra support and instruction if students struggle with a task, and alerts teachers when further help is required.
Try to provide a quiet space for learning if students are working in Lexia from home. Headphones can be helpful but aren’t required.

We invite your to contact your child's teacher with any questions you may have.

Students receive instruction in reading, writing, speaking, and listening in Literacy at Pea Ridge. Each year students experience this instruction through the context of building background knowledge in social science and science. The more students know about more topics, the better they comprehend what they read and the more likely they are able to make connections beyond the text they are reading.

In Third Grade, we learn about the topics below.

The Sea

We will study why people explore the sea. Poets and writers explore the sea through words and images. Scientists use technology to discover new species. We will explore literature, informational text, and art as we ask the question: Why do people explore the sea?

Some of the books we are reading include:

The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau, Dan Yaccarino
Giant Squid: Searching for a Sea Monster, Mary M. Cerullo and Clyde F. E. Roper
Shark Attack!, Cathy East Dubowski
Amos & Boris, William Steig
“The Lion and the Mouse,” The Full Text of Aesop’s Fables

Our class will ask these questions as we read to learn more:

How do artists explore the sea?
Why and how do scientists explore the sea?
Why and how do scientists explore sea creatures?
Why do people explore the sea?

Outer Space

We will study how people have learned about space through history. By reading books and examining art, students explore our fascination with the cosmos, asking the question: How do people learn about space?

Some of the books we are reading include:

Moonshot, Brian Floca
One Giant Leap, Robert Burleigh
Starry Messenger, Peter Sís
Zathura, Chris Van Allsburg

Our class will ask these questions as we read to learn more:

How did Galileo learn about space?
How did the astronauts of Apollo 11 learn about space?
How do artists and writers help people learn about space?

A New Home

Students will explore the immigrant experience through the lens of stories. We will ask: How do stories help us understand immigrants’ experiences?

Some of the books we are reading include:

Grandfather’s Journey, Allen Say
Tea with Milk, Allen Say
The Keeping Quilt, Patricia Polacco
Family Pictures, Carmen Lomas Garza
Coming to America: The Story of Immigration, Betsy Maestro

Our class will ask these questions to learn more as we read:

What challenges do immigrants face in a new country?
Why do people immigrate to America?
How do immigrants respond to challenges in a new country?

Arists Make Art

Students will explore the creative impulse as they read biographies of artists in the fields of dance, literature, the visual arts, and music. In addition to reading about the artists, students encounter the work of each of these artists. We will ask: What is an artist?

Some of the books we are reading include:

Emma’s Rug, Allen Say
Alvin Ailey, Andrea Davis Pinkney
A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams, Jen Bryant
Action Jackson, Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan
When Marian Sang, Pam Muñoz Ryan

Our class will ask these questions to learn more as we read:

What inspires artists?
How do artists make art?
What are some character traits that are useful to artists?
Why is art important?